Leah Carrillo knows the value of hard work, thanks to diligent parents and plenty of sweat and tears on her family ranch in Leakey, Texas. Carrillo is working hard today to prevent disease in San Antonio. Currently a master’s-degree student at UT San Antonio, Carrillo already is actively supporting research projects to prevent cancer, obesity, and manage diabetes. She wants to continue working hard to increase the health of her community by translating her growing knowledge and skills into effective, accessible health programs. To further her training and education, Carrillo applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. The program, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez at UT Health San Antonio with support from the National Cancer Institute, recruits 25 ...
Discrimination. Micro-aggressions. Going back to college with kids. With a mother who overcame these hurdles as an immigrant to the U.S. from Honduras, Alejandra Mendez learned resilience. Now Mendez always looks for opportunities for success, rather than possible barriers. Her optimism has enabled her to help people similar to her mother, conducting research on the impact of racial discrimination, and volunteering to help uninsured clinic patients. Mendez recently earned her master’s degree in public health in health behavior and health education from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Under the guidance of her preceptor, Mendez conducted research on how racial discrimination affects health throughout the life course and adverse birth outcomes. Prior to her ...
If you need someone with a variety of experience in health fields, Claudia Chavez has it. Neuroscience? Check. Healthcare administration? Check. Delivering a baby (as part of EMT training)?! Check. Today, Chavez is growing her already strong health-promotion skills as a second-year student in the master’s program in healthcare administration at UT Southwestern in Dallas, where she also works as a research assistant. Chavez, a Dallas native, wants to make culturally competent healthcare a right—not a privilege—for all people. To further her training and education, Chavez applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. The program, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez at UT Health San Antonio with support from the National Cancer Institute, ...
Adrianna Acevedo-Fontanez celebrates her Puerto Rican heritage through music and food, such as using “el castero” to stew rice or fighting for “el pegao.” But she also knows that Puerto Ricans face dire health issues. That is why, when she sees people in need, she helps them. Her empathetic spirit and hard work as a community health educator is helping her address issues like lack of healthcare and lack of cancer screening among women. Fontanez is currently in the final phase of her master’s degree in epidemiology and is a community health educator at the University of Puerto Rico / MD Anderson Partnership for Excellence in Cancer Research at the UPR Comprehensive Cancer Center. To further her training and education, Fontanez applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer ...
Sonia Fragoso developed a passion to help other people thanks to her parents, who gave up their own desires and worked hard to give her and her siblings a better life. Now Fragoso gives back and helps out every chance she gets. For example, she spent her high school and college careers tutoring and mentoring underprivileged students, as well as the homeless. This also sparked her interest in STEM and pursuing public health as a career. Fragoso now works as a research assistant in analytical research and pathogen laboratories at UT Health San Antonio. She aims to bridge gaps in personalized medicine, and tailor medications to benefit the Latino population. To further her training and education, Fragoso applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. ...
If you're in the hospital, your health and your pocketbook are taking a hit. A TV station in Seattle (6.5% Latino) tried a unique way—buying debt from people's medical expenses, then forgiving it(!)—to improve the lives of locals dealing with cancer, The Hill reports. Buy why?
'Big Issues with the Bills' TV station KIRO reporter Jesse Jones – a cancer survivor himself – reported a story about a cancer patient that was struggling to pay her bills and couldn’t afford further treatments. Many Latinos face this situation. 27% of Latinos have no usual health care provider and 15% have no health insurance, according to a Salud America! research review. These Latinos often end up seeking routine healthcare in the emergency room, which can be very costly. After his ...
What’s better than waking up to an encouraging text message? Iris Guzman, thanks in part to supportive texts each morning from her father and her experiences as a first-generation Mexican-American, has developed a similar caring nature for the health and welfare of Latinos. Guzman, who is from Nayarit, Mexico, is currently a second-year master’s-degree student in public health at UCLA’s Department of Community Health Sciences. She has a consistent desire to research the social, cultural, and environmental determinants of health. Particularly, she wants to study these determinants in order to reduce and eliminate health inequities in the Latino population. To further her training and education, Guzman applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training ...
Claudia Sanchez Lucas is described by many as humble, a trait learned from her mom and dad. Lucas is also strong and resilient, with a passion for helping people. Lucas has powerful curiosity that can one day help her push science in brave new directions. She’s growing her passion and curiosity as a master’s degree student in public health epidemiology at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, where she also earned a bachelor’s degree in health studies. She is excited to learn more about cancer epidemiology and neuroepidemiology, perhaps envisioning new interventions to stimulate brain health to help talented people maximize their mental capabilities even further. To further her training and education, Lucas applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership ...
"I didn’t know eating McDonald’s every day would hurt my triglyceride levels." Sadly, this is something Bertha Hidalgo heard when she talked to friends and family about heart disease. Simply put, many women had no idea. Not just about the details of Bertha's studies, such as a recent American Heart Association (AHA) report she helped author about disparities in treatment of heart disease and stroke. They didn’t even understand many of the basics about awareness, prevention, and treatment. “Their lack of certainty with some of these health topics means we’re not doing a good enough job as scientists and physicians to get the message out to the people who need it," Bertha told American Heart Association News. For example, do you know the answer to these ...
